The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (758) Sergeant Herbert George Finch, 36th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Dennis Stockman, the story for this day was on (758) Sergeant Herbert George Finch, 36th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

758 Sergeant Herbert George Finch, 36th Battalion, AIF
KIA: 18 December 1916

Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant Herbert George Finch.

Herbert Finch was born on 14 November 1895, the eldest of six children born to Joseph and Elizabeth Finch. Herbert was the family’s only son, and grew up with his five sisters in North Botany in Sydney, and later lived in Marrickville. He attended a local public school and later worked as a locomotive engine cleaner and fireman. He gained military service by serving in a local militia regiment.

Finch enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 31 January 1916. He trained with the 18th Battalion in Sydney, but in February joined C Company of the 36th Infantry Battalion.

Finch sailed from Sydney for overseas service on 13 May 1916 aboard the transport ship Beltana. He arrived with his unit in England in July and began training for service on the Western Front.

In late November 1916, Finch and the 36th Battalion sailed for France, and moved into billets behind the lines near Armentieres on the Franco-Belgian border. They had arrived in Europe just in time for the terrible winter of 1916 and 1917, the coldest in living memory.

The men of the battalion had their first experience of the front-line trenches when they moved into the lines near Armentieres on 4 and 5 December 1916. These first two days were relatively quiet, but on 6 of December they came under heavy German mortar attack.

Finch and the 36th Battalion spent the next week carrying out front-line trench duties such as manning the defences, strengthening and repairing the trench system, and conducting patrols into no man’s land to observe enemy actions. Finch’s C Company received praise for its exceptional work in locating an enemy mortar which had been attacking the Australian lines.

On 18 December 1916, after having spent a week working and resting in billets behind the lines, Finch and the 36th Battalion once again returned to the freezing trenches.
That night, members of the battalion conducted a number of patrols into no man’s land to inspect wire fortifications placed in defence of the Australian positions. As they moved out of their trenches, the men came under heavy machine-gun fire, and it is likely that Finch was killed at this time.

Herbert Finch was 21 years old. He had been at the front for two weeks.

Today, his remains lie buried in the Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery in France, where over 2,100 soldiers of the First World War now lie. His grave reads: “Thy will be done”.
Sergeant Herbert George Finch name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Sergeant Herbert George Finch, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section